Several years ago, when I got really active again in ham radio, I bought a FT-100. I use it as my primary home rig, as I've moved my "shack" to the study with its small desk, and I need to be "low profile". I've greatly enjoyed it, and never had the problems experienced by some others. However, the audio quality of the microphone, with its teeny element, leaves something to be desired.

Several months ago there was an article discussing simple modification whereby you take the microphone apart to remove a small plastic disk that sits in front of the microphone element. I've spoken to Yaesu techs, and they have no idea why that disk was placed there. With it removed, audio is understandably improved somewhat. I won't re-hash that article, but it should be easily found here on eHam.

One other problem not solved by the above "mod", but easily solved, is fairly scratchy, sibilant audio. That is true whether the aforementioned disk is present or not. Early in my days with the FT-100, someone recommended a simple fix: A piece of foam weather-stripping taped over the microphone holes. Buy it thick enough that it is easy to split with a razor knife to eliminate the gummy side. It's fairly easy to control the thickness you cut. Cut a long enough piece that you can tape it away from the holes, and the buttons. I cut a narrow, long piece and run it over the top of the mic; one piece of tape goes over the top of the mic (I don't use those "up" and "down" buttons much); the other goes across the mic in front, just above the buttons. If you do it neatly with thin strips of black tape, it doesn't look too bad.

I've tested this listening to myself in another receiver, and it perfectly eliminates the scratchiness.

I recently bought a FT-1500M and have made the same modifications to its mic, which is very similar to the FT-100 mic.

Finally, I've learned that you don't have to spend a lot of money to GREATLY improve the audio of the FT-100. A month ago, a local Radio Shack was selling a discontinued floor sample of a typical "studio" dynamic mike for $3. Low impedance. It looked very well made, and I bought it because I couldn't pass it up. I immediately started thinking about whether I could use it with the FT-100. It's sort of a "bargain basement Heil".

The FT-100 uses a six-conductor modular line for the mic. Fortunately, an old-fashioned electronics store in the town next to ours had this; you won't find six-conductor modular in Radio Shack, although it's probably easily available on the net. The FT-100 manual has a clear diagram of the connections. A mic like this has only two conductors, for the mic element itself; the "on-off" switch is of course not a "push to talk". (This means that you have to use VOX.) I spliced the conductors, and tried the mic. The audio sounded good, but there was virtually no output, even at full gain!

I called Yaesu, and one of the techs told me to reset the entire radio back to default settings. He couldn't explain why, but said that they've learned that this cures a multitude of problems. (It seems as though, just like a computer, conflicts can arise.) In fact, if someone sends a FT-100 to Yaesu with an inscrutable problem, that's the first thing they do automatically. Lo and behold, that solved the problem. I was now getting normal output.

At this point some readers are probably saying that they'd rather live with less good audio than do this, but this wasn't a big deal for me; I had very little programmed into my FT-100.

Bottom line: With no DSP adjustment, no compression, mic gain at 50%, I've got nearly "broadcast quality"; audio. I've confirmed listening to myself how much better it sounds; and a net I check into regularly can't believe the difference.

I'm out $11, $3 for the mike and $8 for the small stand. You may not find a $3 mic; on the other hand, you may already have such a mic. At Radio Shack, these current stock mics seem to go for $30-$40. All in all this is a pretty reasonable way to significantly improve the audio of the FT-100.